This invention relates generally to golf tees and particularly to golf tees which modify or otherwise improve the flight of a golf ball which has been struck by a golf club in the normal manner from a tee. The golf tee in this invention eliminates or reduces the effect of any undesirable rotational input from contact with the head of the golf club, and, therefore reduces or eliminates hooking and slicing of the ball in flight.
There have been other golf tee devices which generally have attempted to improve a player's accuracy in guiding a golf ball. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,723, the inventor therein disclosed a tee which was shaped to eliminate golf ball/tee head interference as the ball flies from the tee. U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,027 also discloses a tee shaped to pivot away from the club head just prior to golf ball impact for the same purpose, i.e. to prevent disruption of the intended ball trajectory. U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,504 discloses a tee shaped for improved trajectory alignment and length of ball flight.
Two U.S. patents have been addressed to the partial objective of this invention. U.S. Pat. No. 1,573,911 teaches a golf tee which includes an elastic ring of rubber or the like having yielding lugs for retaining the ball on a corrugated head tap surface. This device, although arguably effective in reducing ball spin, as elaborate and expensive. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,888 is intended to specifically by suction means in an elaborate base, improve one's golf game by providing additional resilient resistance to the golf ball's club impact, thus increasing distance achieved by a given club impact.
The present invention is specifically intended to reduce or eliminate the rotational spin imparted to a less than perfectly struck golf ball, thus reducing the tendency of the ball to curve in one direction or another ("slicing" to the left or "hooking" to the right). by simple inexpensive means, which is readily carriable in hand, pocket or golf bag, optionally reuseable, this invention has accomplished the above objective.